Brisket is a great meal for entertaining because it’s meat and vegetables all in one dish, AND you prepare it ahead of time and let it cook for about three hours. Beef brisket = happy hostess.

This is adapted from Ina Garten’s recipe which is designed for ten people. The preparation below serves between four and six (depending on the crowd).

Ingredients:

3lb beef brisket – get it from the butcher, it makes all the difference

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 lb of carrots, peeled and cut into two-inch diagonal chunks

4 stalks of celery, well cleaned and cut into two-inch chunks

2-3 yellow onions, peeled and sliced in half rings

3 bay leaves

1 tablespoon of kosher salt

1 teaspoon of  black pepper

1 teaspoon dried (NOT fresh) oregano leaves

23 ounces of tomato juice (low sodium if you prefer)

Take the meat out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking to bring it closer to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and get started on the rub. Combine the 2 cloves of minced garlic, tablespoon of salt, teaspoon of pepper and teaspoon of oregano in a small bowl and mix them all together.

Bleck! The lighting in my kitchen is terrible! Peel and chop the carrots, chop the celery and slice the onions.

Put the brisket in a medium roasting pan and pat it dry with a paper towel. Cover it with the rub you made before. This brisket was a little too fatty on top; you can ask the butcher to trim the meat however you like it.

Pile the veggies on top of the meat and pour the tomato juice over it until the juice is three quarters of the way up the meat. Lay the bay leaves on top of everything.

Apparently aluminum foil and tomato juice/sauce don’t mesh. Therefore, you have to cover the meat with parchment paper (buy it in the same section as the aluminum foil) BEFORE you wrap the roasting pan in aluminum foil.

Stick it in the oven and leave it alone! After three hours it should be done. Word to the wise: use an oven mitt to remove the foil because the steam that escapes from the pan is a million degrees and will burn you (as it did me). The meat should be easy to cut through when it’s done.

Remove the meat to a pan or cookie sheet and cover it tightly with foil. Put the roasting pan with the veggies and sauce over a burner (or two if the pan is large) and cook over medium heat for about 20-30 minutes,or until the sauce thickens.

Slice the meat and pour veggies and sauce over it. Be sure to discard the bay leaves before serving! Word to the wise #2: Even if you’re not serving all the meat at once, slice it up. Once it’s refrigerated, it’s nearly impossible to slice.

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